"I'd like to kill him,"
Kira said angrily as she watched Bashir run the medilyzer over his own
genitals. "I know," Julian said,
wincing, "but then Odo would have to arrest you." "We can't let him get
away with this." "Odo's talking to him
now. What else can we do?" Julian was finally starting to feel
some relief. He moved the tissue regenerator over the very tip of
his penis, which had beentrapped in the tiniest ring of all. He
lifted his scrotum and saw an angry red bruise behind it. "It's been over an
hour," Kira said in frustration. "Why isn't Odo back yet?" "I don't know," said
Julian, concentrating. "How can you just sit
there?" Nerys paced back and forth in the small convalescent room. "I'm trying to heal
myself," Julian said in exasperation. "I hope Odo arrests Garak,
but, if he doesn't, what am I going to do about it?" He shuddered.
"I certainly don't want to tortureGarak in return. He'd probably love it,
anyway." Kira threw herself
in a chair and covered her face with her hands. "Nerys?" he said anxiously. "I'm all right.
But that just reminded me of the old joke about the sadist and the masochist.
The masochist said 'hurt me,' and the sadist said, 'no.'" She glanced
up at Bashir, whohad a pained expression on his face. "I'm
sorry," she said quickly. "I don't think I'm
a masochist," Julian said somberly, "and I'm certainly not a sadist, but
I have to admit that I was excited in a perverse sort of way. If
I'd had the choice, I wouldn't have chosen to go through that in a million
years. But, dammit, you know, if my cock hadn't been hard, then the
thing wouldn't have hurt me." "It wasn't your fault,"
Kira said sympathetically. "Some things are just physically arousing.
As a doctor you should know that." "I do know it, but
still..." "No buts. He
forced you to get an erection, and then he told you that the only way out
was to fuck him. You were in pain, and you were in his power.
So you did it." Julian turned off the
instrument and felt himself experimentally. "I took an hour-long
shower afterwards." "I believe it," Nerys
agreed sincerely. They sat in silence
for a few moments. "Nerys," Julian said
carefully, pulling on his pants, "I hope this won't bother you." "Of course it bothers
me," she said, "but not that way," she added quickly. "I still love
you, Julian." She sat next to him on the table and pressed her mouth
to his. Julian returned her
kiss eagerly. She hadn't told him that so directly before, although
he'd known that she felt that way. His penis started to rise.
It ached quite a bit, although lessthan before. Nerys broke away from their
kiss. "I was just wondering,
Julian," she began, "not to say that it was your fault, but couldn't you
just have waited until the time in the holosuite was up?" "Just think what he
might have done to me instead," Julian said evasively. "He had a
whip in that bag, Nerys." She shuddered.
"I'm sorry. I just thought that if I'd been in your place..." "You would have died
before you did what he wanted," Julian finished. "Something like that." Julian considered.
"In a way, you're right. Something strange happened to my mind in
there. I forgot about the rest of the station. I felt helpless
and alone. The pain took overeverything until I felt as if I had to do what
he said. But it wasn't just that. The pain was mixed with pleasure,
too, pleasure so intense it was unbearable." He looked at her withanguish in his face. "Remember that vision
you had of me as a slave? Maybe you were on to something then.
Maybe Garak saw it, too. He made me think like a slave. And
it didn't really take much. Even though I was answering him back,
I felt compelled to obey him." Julian paused. "He gave me the
chance to leave just before I fucked him, but... I couldn't," he finished
helplessly. They sat silently for
a few moments. Nerys put her hand comfortingly on his thigh, rubbing
it gently up and down. The door chime rang, and Bashir answered.
It was Odo. "What happened?" Nerys
asked quickly, seeing his angry expression. "It wasn't pretty,"
Odo growled. "Is he in custody?"
she insisted. "No, he isn't in custody.
And I think you'll agree with me when I tell you why not." "Try me," Nerys said
angrily. "He admitted to everything.
He even had it all recorded." Bashir's eyes opened
wide. "Odo, did you..." "Yes, Julian, I confiscated
his copy and erased the one in the holosuite. But he claims he has
some others in a safe place, and that he'll show them around the station
if I take any action against him at all." "I expected something
like that," Julian groaned. "Blackmail," Kira exclaimed
indignantly. "We can't let him get away with it." "What do you suggest?"
Julian asked in an irritated tone. "You might not mind if my humiliation
were shown all over the quadrant--and maybe even the next quadrant--but
I certainly would." "I agree," Odo said.
"As much as it pains me to give in to a blackmailer, I don't think he'd
hesitate to do what he threatened." Kira was silent for
a moment, clenching her fists in her lap. "Dammit," she exclaimed,
"we'll have to find some other way of getting back at him." "Unofficially, of ourse,"
Odo said, "I was thinking the same thing." "Where's the datachip?"
Julian asked suddenly. Odo held it up.
"Right here. Why?" "I want it."
Julian spoke quietly with a set to his jaw. "No, Julian," Nerys
coaxed, "let Odo destroy it. You don't want to watch it, do you?" "That's exactly what
I want to do," he said firmly. "The whole thing was so... immediate
while it was happening. I was so wrapped up in my own sensations,
I'm not sure what reallyhappened. I need to get some distance
on it. This will help me. Really," he added, seeing their faces.
"If you like, you can watch it with me. But I have to see it." "Are you sure you want
us to watch it with you?" Nerys asked, looking pained. "Yes, actually.
If you wouldn't mind." Nerys eased herself
off the table. "All right. After dinner." They went to the replimat
and sat together. Odo sat still with his hands folded and watched
the others eat. When Garak arrived and greeted them cheerfully, they
all ignored him. "Humph," Garak snorted
loudly, "so that's how things stand. Your pants are ready, doctor.
Come by the shop and pick them up at your convenience." He leaned
in closer. "I've made a few extra cuts to give you more room in front."
He licked his lips and smiled wickedly. Julian's face flushed scarlet
as the tailor walked away. The three tried to
talk normally about station business until their meal was over, but none
of them could stop thinking about the Cardassian across the room, or the
recording they wereabout to watch.

Bashir slipped the datachip
into the clip on his desk. "Computer, project image on large screen."
He slid the cover off a viewscreen on the wall and gestured to the bed.
"We can sitthere, or I can move some chairs over." "The bed is fine,"
Nerys answered. Her heart was beating fast, pumping adrenaline through
her body. She wasn't looking forward to this. Julian pulled
off his boots and sat in thecenter of the bed. Odo looked pained as
he took his place next to him. Nerys sat on his other side.
They leaned against comfortable pillows. "Ready?" Julian asked.
He looked pale. "Computer, run recording. No sound."
The screen came alive with an image of Julian playing racquetball. "He had the recording
going before he even started his program," Julian said indignantly.
"And then there's the little matter of how he overrode my security code." "I'll have a talk with
Quark," Odo assured him. On the screen, the
door opened and Garak walked in carrying his bag. "I actually thought
for a moment that he wanted to challenge me to a game," Julian said ruefully.
"I couldn'tbelieve he'd have the nerve." Garak had locked the
doors and changed the scene now, and Julian was trying to override his
commands. The contents of the exercise bag were dumped on the bed. "What is that thing?"
Kira asked, peering at the image. Julian sighed.
"It's the thing he used on me, but it was tangled up with a whip when it
came out of the bag." "A whip?" Odo asked
in horror. He shrugged.
"I suppose he would have used it on me if I'd been more defiant." "The monster," Kira
murmured. On the screen, Julian was struggling with the four simulations.
"Why did he have to make them Bajorans?" she asked angrily. "For the same reason
that he had to make one with my face," Julian replied. "You defended yourself
well," Odo remarked appraisingly. "It didn't help.
It just tired me out," Julian said, his eyes glued to the screen. "If they had been real,
they might not have been able to overpower you completely," Odo said.
"You would have put two of them out of commission, anyway." "If they were real
they probably would have hurt me more, too," Julian argued. "The
holosuite safeguards were still in place." They looked on in silence
while Garak slit Julian's uniform neatly using a small pair of scissors
from his pocket. "So that's how he did it," Julian breathed.
Garak expertly threadedJulian's member through the hoops of the device.
The on-screen Julian appraised it, looking appalled. Garak and a
slave stimulated his cock and nipples. A look of absolute horror
cameover Julian's screen face as he felt his hard-on
growing. When the slaves released him, he tried to remove the device
and was again restrained. The apparitions released him again, and
he spoke angrily. Then he stood submissively, head bowed. He
removed his outfit, then quickly knelt and started sucking Garak's cock. "Haven't you seen enough?"
Nerys asked. She turned her head away when Garak's member had slipped
into Julian's mouth. "No. But you
don't have to watch it." Julian's attention was riveted to the image
as the simulation grabbed his penis. He winced when his screen twin
doubled over in agony and thenpainfully lifted himself up to take Garak's
penis back into his mouth. A few seconds later, he was pulling the
organ out to look at it in surprise, and Garak was laughing. "I bit him hard, and
it made him come," Julian explained. "Then I realized he wasn't going
soft at all. It takes several orgasms to make a Cardassian lose his
erection." "I've heard that,"
contributed Kira. "Then what?" Odo asked.
"What did he do?" "Just what you'd think,"
Julian said in a choked voice. "This is the worst part." On the screen, Julian
was laying himself down over the edge of the bed. "Oh, no," Kira
said, appalled. "Oh, yes," answered
Julian. "That's how he got me to do what I did later." Garak had slid into
Julian's crevice, and was thrusting against him vigorously. "Computer, fast forward."
Suddenly Garak's ass bounced up and down as fast as the needle of a sewing
machine. "Stop. Resume normal speed. Time elapsed during
fast-forwardedsequence?" "Forty-six minutes,"
the computer droned. Julian let his breath
out hard. "I had no idea at the time. But I knew I could hardly
move when he was done. I could hardly even speak. And my erection
had grown so much that the rings were really biting into me. It was..." "Julian?" came Kira's
quietest voice. As she edged closer to him her warmth suddenly washed
over his skin. He stopped talking abruptly and turned to her.
"You have an erection." She looked at him questioningly as she rubbed
a hand along his thigh. "Now, you mean?"
He looked at his crotch. "I know," he whispered. "I'm ashamed
to say so, but, now that it's over, the thought of what I went through
is really arousing." "I'm excited, too,"
she admitted, pressing closer to him. "I hate to say it, but the
idea of exciting you in spite of yourself, the idea that you're so turned
on by being taken frombehind that even great pain didn't keep your
erection from growing, and growing..." She stopped, suddenly appalled.
"This is awful, Julian. I'm so sorry. We shouldn't be watching
this." She threw Odo a look of appeal. "I was just wondering
whether I'd been around humans too long," Odo suddenly put in, "and--how
interesting--I find I have." He dissolved into a golden pool and
surrounded them both with his shimmering substance. Julian introduced
both hands deep into the gelatinous mass and scooped up two large handfuls.
As he held it, Odo's substance moved around his shoulders and neck, entwining
him in a liquid embrace. "We have to admit it,"
Julian said, as he brushed his lips across Odo's molten body. "That's
what I went back to look for. I thought I must be sick, or crazy, to have
gotten so aroused.But it worked on both of you, too." On the screen Julian
had entered Garak's orifice and was carefully moving in and out.
Nerys watched for a moment. "Did you feel more
in control when you were doing that?" she asked curiously. "Of course," Julian
said, removing his shirt. "At least I was doing something active,
instead of just submitting. I finally felt that I was going to get
release. Until then, I really wasn't sure what he intended to do." "Maybe he wasn't sure,
either," came Odo's voice, sounding like an echo. "That's not a comforting
thought," Julian snorted, "but it might be close to the truth. When
I think back on it, he sounded desperate when I last saw him in the replimat.
And that was afew weeks ago." On the screen, his image
grimaced in pain and grabbed at the tough skin over Garak's hips. "You're not saying
that he had an excuse?" Kira asked, stopping halfway towards lifting off
her shirt. "No. Not that.
But I've often wondered why I didn't ever recognize that he was coming
on to me." Both shirtless, Julian and Kira were encasing their arms
and chests in Odo and lettinghim run playfully up and down them in rivulets.
A small tendril pushed into Bashir's pants. "Were you attracted
to him?" Julian searched Kira's
face before answering. "A little," he admitted, "I might have been,
anyway. Now I'm furious at him for what he did to me." Kira removed her pants
and lay on Odo, rolling her body around on him. He began to materialize
under her, penis first. "You must have read my mind!" she exclaimed,
and mounted him immediately. Julian watched them,
touching their different substances tenderly and thinking disconnected
thoughts. On the screen, his nearly forgotten image worked through
its passion play. Theyoung man up there was sweaty and pale and had
dark circles under his eyes. Julian wondered for a second if that
was really himself. He placed his hand between Nerys's legs from
behind and felt Odo's erection as she plunged down upon it over and over
again. He grabbed the shaft and felt their combined wetness moisten
his hand. Running his hand up Nerys's cleft, he entered her with
one finger, and then two. He knelt and pushed hiserection against her cleft, sliding up and down
through the crevice between her cheeks without actually entering her.
His hands moved over her ass and thighs, and his penis moved down torub against Odo's shaft and be trapped between
their bellies by their energetic movements. He gently touched her
clit. When she came, he felt her throbbing through both his hand
and his cock that touched Odo's. When Nerys and Odo
started to roll over, he moved out of their way, and then returned to his
position between their legs. His penis was still a little sore, but
the marks left by therings had faded to a light red. Kneeling,
he pushed into Odo from behind, feeling as he did so the fascinating sensations
that, in imagination, had finally made him come despite Garak'storture device. He ought to tell Odo,
but he knew that the shape shifter would be embarrassed. On the screen, his
former self was entering the last stages of his torment. Julian watched
with fascination as he trembled and nearly lost his balance. He looked
like a man on the edge of collapse. "Garak did that to me," he murmured,
"but how did it make him feel?" It struck him as incredibly strange
to be watching himself push into Garak's leathery orifice whileactually thrusting into Odo's delicious one.
He felt extremely excited and, at the same time, he was fixated on the
image of his screen self. He plunged harder into Odo, driving himself
closerand closer to explosion, but somehow he felt
constrained. Finally, when he saw
his image shake, and stagger, and mouth a silent scream, his own release
completed itself in a rush of pleasure. He closed his eyes.
Suddenly he thought of theperfect way to get his revenge on Garak.
He wouldn't ask Odo or Kira to help him; it was something he needed to
do alone. With his whole body still throbbing, he rolled off Odo
and lay by Nerys's side, kissing her as she came one final time.
Odo sighed in pleasure and relaxed his form, lying lightly on them both. Julian slipped his
arms around them. Odo's body was pliant, giving at his touch, while
Nerys's was firm. "I love you both," he said, deeply moved by the
feel of them. "And I have to tell you what I'm going to do to Garak."

Julian walked confidently
into the dress shop. Garak was concentrating, looking through a rack,
and didn't hear him enter. "Garak," Julian began
seriously, "I've come to ask you for an appointment." The tailor looked up
with an expression of smug delight on his face. "Now, why doesn't
that surprise me?" he asked rhetorically. "Never say never." "On my terms," Julian
continued. "Holosuite 2, but with my program this time. No
overrides, no tricks." "Certainly, doctor.
What have you in store for me?" "Mr. Garak!" came an
annoyed voice from the dressing room. "Where is that dress you promised
to bring me?" "Coming, Madam," Garak
responded obsequiously. He turned to Julian and asked tersely, "When?" Bashir smiled a nasty
and superior smile. "Tonight at 1900 hours." He turned as if
to go and then stopped. "And, Garak?" "Yes?" "You won't need your
bag. Everything will be taken care of." He stalked out the
door before the Cardassian could answer. "How intriguing," Garak
mused, feeling that his anticipation was pleasantly tinged with an indefinable
sense of unease. "Something to look forward to at the end of a dreary
day."

Garak turned up right
on the hour, having learned that promptness is never out of season if you
expect to put yourself at someone else's mercy. He announced himself
and was leftstanding outside for a few moments. Finally,
the doors slid open on a large, light bedroom, the focus of which was clearly
the enormous, square bed in the center. Garak walked in, lookingaround himself in puzzlement. "I know where we are,"
he said finally. "It's Risa, isn't it?" "That's right," said
Julian. He ordered the computer to place a security lock on the door.
Garak tried to exit and was rebuffed. "Just checking your
thoroughness, my good doctor," he said with a twinkle in his eye.
"Now, what am I in for tonight?" "Whatever you like,
Garak," Julian said, walking up to him. "Whatever I like?"
echoed Garak. "All right. I want you kneeling before me in
chains, naked of course. And I want a whip." Julian laughed.
"But I don't want to be in chains. And this is Risa, remember." "No torture," Garak
said glumly. "No torture," Bashir
repeated, "and no non-consensual acts." Garak sighed.
"Then what's the point?" Julian walked over
to the bed. "I'm surprised at you, Garak. Here I am, telling
you that I'll do anything with you except let you hurt me, and you're telling
me you aren't interested?" "I wouldn't go that
far, doctor. But it does reduce the stakes." Julian walked over
to the bed and pulled something up from the corner. It was a handcuff.
"They do allow bondage on Risa," he remarked with a smile. Garak walked quickly
over. "As long as you consent? I see. So, are you consenting?" "No. You are.
Remove your clothes and lie down. I'll do the rest." "I can't do that,"
Garak said uncomfortably. "Why not? Don't
you enjoy being tied down?" "Of course," Garak
said impatiently, "but I have to be forced to submit to it. Or convinced.
The way I convinced you. I still think that was masterfully done,
by the way," he commented slyly. "I've seldom enjoyed myself more." Julian flushed in spite
of his resolution to stay cool. "And I've seldom suffered so much,"
he blurted out. "The more you excited me, the more I hurt, and the
more humiliated I was.I'll admit that I'm attracted to you, but I'm
not attracted to that much pain. If you're not capable of giving
yourself to me without the pain, then I'll open the door and you can walk
out of here right now." Garak looked at him
in astonishment. "I didn't think you were capable of getting around
me like that," he said. "Congratulations, doctor. I have no
choice but to submit." He pulled off his boots and started removing
his pants. "But you're next," he said warningly. "If I put
my hands in these cuffs, then you'll do it after me." "I'll do better than
that, Garak," Julian said boldly. "I'll go first." Garak gaped at him
for a moment. "My dear doctor, your courage takes my breath away.
Please feel free." He gestured at the bed and pulled his pants back
on. Julian stripped quickly
and lay on the bed. Garak elevated his ass with some pillows, and
then buckled on the restraints, attaching each limb to a corner of the
bed. "There's somelubricant on the table," Julian said. "So there is," Garak
agreed, going to get it. The cold wetness of
the lubricant splashed on him and inside him. Nothing happened for
a few moments. Just as he had made Odo do once, Julian waited with
his forehead against the sheets, looking as though he was trying not to
let his mind dwell on what was to come. But anticipation seemed to
get the better of him, and his erection rose at a mere hint of Garak's
rough touch. Garak did not fail to notice. "What a tribute to
my technique, doctor," he gloated, "that you'd put yourself in my power
like this again." "You're next," Julian
said, sounding afraid. "Ah, yes, I'm next.
But it's your turn now." Without warning, Julian
felt a rush of air and then Garak was sliding into him. He cried
out as the hard, Cardassian penis filled his tender cleft and started driving
forcefully into him,making him squirm and buck. "Is this what you wanted
from me, doctor?" Garak asked arrogantly, suddenly pulling out. "I'm not afraid to
admit you arouse me," Julian gasped, "but you won't make me grovel.
If you're done fucking me already, then take my place." "I'm not done, doctor.
I'll decide when I'm done." Garak sounded angry. He plunged
back in, making Julian yell and throw back his head. For what seemed like
an hour, Garak thrust steadily into Julian while the doctor sighed and
moaned. Once, at the beginning, Garak came, and he was building steadily
to his secondclimax when he heard Julian cry out and felt
him tremble, and realized that the Terran had come. The thought of
making Julian come without touching his erection sent Garak over the edge,
and he shouted as he pushed in hard and came. They lay for a moment
with Garak's penis still rigid in Julian's orifice. Then Garak rolled
off him and Julian heard the restraints click open. When Julian rose, Garak
stripped and silently took his place, and the doctor fastened the restraints
firmly over his wrists and ankles. His broad backside was elevated,
and hisleathery buttocks were spread. A pair
of hands inserted itself into him, spreading lubricant around his cleft.
Suddenly Garak realized that there were too many hands on him, rubbing
over, through, and under him. "What's going on?"
he said indignantly. "Who else is here?" Two figures moved around
to face him. Both were naked, and both were Dr. Bashir. "I
know you like to have two of me around," one said insolently. "Which one is really
you?" Garak asked. "I am," they chorused. "Which one did I fuck?"
Garak wondered angrily. The Julians looked
at each other. "Not me," one said. "It must have been
him," said the other. "But now we're both going to fuck you." Garak growled deep
in his throat and seriously tried the restraints. They held. One Julian disappeared
behind him, while the other knelt by his head. "Here you are, Garak,"
he said, pushing his hard-on against the Cardassian's teeth. Garak
opened his mouth and took the organ inside, sucking it so vigorously that
Julian gasped and grabbed at his head. At the same moment, he felt
Julian's erection slide into his anal orifice so hard that the doctor's
belly hit Garak's ass with an audible smack. Garak sucked hard at
Julian's cock, feeling the same organ slide into him from behind.
He felt frustrated and yet terribly aroused by the doctor's cleverness.
He was off-balance, feelinga fool, his sense of sexual triumph fading fast.
And yet, this was a problem he could solve if he tried. One of them
was the real Dr. Bashir. The trick was to figure out which one andregain the upper hand. Garak thought of
a way. Without actually clamping
down, he brought his teeth together so that they squeezed Julian's erection
tight, but he had miscalculated. With a groan, Julian came, spurting
hotliquid down Garak's throat. Instead of
releasing him, Garak tried to hold him tight with his teeth. Julian
put a thumb on either side of Garak's jaw and pushed. With a yelp
of pain,Garak released him. "You forget that I'm
a doctor," Julian said with amusement, "so I know where your pressure points
are." Could a holosuite build
such sophistication into its characters? Garak wondered. If Julian
had foreseen that Garak might bite him, he could have programmed it in.
But wasn't thatunlikely? Meanwhile, the other Julian
was still pounding into his backside. "Don't you ever get
tired, doctor?" Garak called to him. "Had enough already,
Garak?" Julian challenged. Garak's erection remained
stiff and was getting painful. He still had two, or even three, good
orgasms left in him. "Not at all, doctor. I was just wondering
when you were going to pay some attention to me." "Later." Bashir
didn't miss a beat. His thrusts became more frequent until he moaned
and fell forward onto Garak's back. After a minute, he withdrew.
Then nothing happened. "Where are you, doctor?"
Garak said angrily, trying his restraints. This was really getting
tiresome. "Right here."
A cool hand reached around and stroked Garak's hot member. "You didn't
think we'd forgotten you, did you?" "I hoped not," Garak
complained. "You may hope so soon
enough," Julian said neutrally. A bolt of excitement
shot through Garak's groin. At last, he thought, Bashir was going
to put him in pain. Maybe he had a whip hidden somewhere. If
the doctor exacted a painful revenge,then Garak would be justified in severely punishing
him later, although for the moment he would refrain from securing the doctor's
definitive submission. Garak had never met a Bajoran who relished
sexual contests the way a Cardassian would, but it was starting to seem
as if Terrans did. Still, Garak wondered if Bashir understood how
likely he was to lose this one. He licked his lips in anticipation. To Garak's astonishment,
Julian's touch was feather-light on his erection, sometimes fading out
altogether until Garak moved frantically, searching for it, trying to rub
himself againstanything he could find. Time and time
again, the four-handed Julian led him to the brink of orgasm, only to leave
him at the last moment wildly flailing against the sheets. Garak
yelledabuse at him, struggling against his bonds. "You'll be sorry about
this later," he threatened. "No one treats me this way." "Except when you're
tied up," said one doctor with a smirk. "You said you liked to be
tied up, Garak." "Not like this!" he
yelled, and bellowed his displeasure inarticulately as he yanked at the
restraints. "What other way is
there?" teased the other. When Garak finally
came, no hand touched him. He poured his ejaculate out on the sheets,
rubbing against them for his only comfort. "Bashir! Bashir!" he
yelled, still furious and still very much erect. "Let me out of these
restraints. Let me go!" "Are you sure you're
ready?" Looking unperturbed, Julian walked around in front of Garak.
He was fully dressed in his uniform, and not a hair was out of place. "How did you get dressed
so fast?" Garak asked suspiciously. "Easily. I never
got undressed," Julian said smugly. He beckoned with both hands,
and his two naked look-alikes came to stand beside him. "You tricked me," Garak
said incredulously, too overcome by the shame of it to hold on to his usual
superiority. "I did," Julian said
happily. "End program." "Bashir voiceprint
confirmed," said the computer. The room faded out,
as did everything except the bed where Garak lay. The restraints
were gone. The Cardassian rose slowly and faced his opponent, who
now stood alone. Garak's erection stood up between them. "I owe you an apology,
doctor. I seriously underestimated you." "Which one of me?"
Bashir asked carelessly. Garak shook his head.
"You're making a mistake, doctor, to treat me so lightly. I won't
forget this." "I thought we could
just call it even, Garak. One for one." "And go back to having
lunch together?" "Why not?" Bashir
shrugged. "Maybe after this we can figure out a real friendship.
Either that, or we'll never speak again." "Oh, we'll speak,"
Garak said grimly, "and someday I will have you again. Not a simulation.
You." He laughed a forced laugh and shook his head. "At least
I know one thing. Youdidn't have the courage to lie down and let
me take you." Julian shrugged again,
refusing to be provoked. "If you'll recall, I've already done that
once," he said. "I just didn't feel like it today." He turned
and walked to the door. "Youhave another half hour in here if you want it."
The door slid open and he left. Garak stood staring
at the door for a long time after Bashir had left. Although his erection
burned with need, he felt elated and alive. The humiliation had not
been pleasant, but he haddeserved it for underestimating his opponent.
The game was just beginning, he thought ecstatically. Finally, a
truly intriguing puzzle to occupy him on this pit of a station. Garak
likedgames. And he usually made sure he won
them. Bashir walked down
the stairs towards Quark's feeling jubilant. His plan had worked.
Odo sprang up before him suddenly. Julian paused to let the shape
shifter reform and thenwalked with him down the Promenade towards the
habitat ring. "Well, Julian?" Odo
asked anxiously. "It worked."
He smiled involuntarily. "Are you all right?" "A little sore.
But fine." "Which one was you?"
Odo asked in perplexity. "I listened to nearly the whole thing, but
I got confused." "I submitted to him,"
Julian said soberly, not meeting Odo's eyes. "I was the one who lay
down in the restraints and let him take me." "But he thinks it was
a simulation?" "Yes." "Why?" Odo asked painfully.
"That's what this was all about, wasn't it? That he made you submit
to him? Why did you do it?" "On Risa who knows
what I would or wouldn't do?" Julian smiled strangely and walked
on towards his quarters with Odo following slowly behind.